Is The Russian Flag At The 2018 Olympics Closing Ceremony? It Was A Tough Decision

The 2018 Winter Olympics officially concluded with the closing ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea on Sunday, Feb. 25. Similar to the opening ceremony, there was a procession of the flags representing the nations that competed in the games, but you might have noticed one country whose athletes didn't have a national flag to call their own. So, is the Russian flag at the 2018 Olympics closing ceremony?

The ban was originally instated in 2014 after the Sochi Winter Games when Russia's sports ministry allegedly procured 100 urine samples in an effort to hide their athletes' prohibited steroid use.

With keeping Russia's Olympic ban, the decision about whether or not the Russian flag would fly was made. As long as the ban is upheld, the athletes from Russia cannot compete for Russia. Instead, eligible Russian athletes who didn't mess with steroids competed throughout the 2018 Winter Olympics as Olympic Athletes from Russia (OAR).

The Bobsleigh Federation of Russia and the athlete herself understand the extent of their responsibility and understand how what has happened can have an impact on the fate of the whole team.

It's these instances of OAR testing positive for banned substances that gave the IOC pause about lifting the ban on Russia's Olympic team.

Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images Sport/Getty Images

It does seem to be that Olympic Athletes from Russia testing positive for banned substances at the 2018 Winter Games is the exception rather than the rule. Furthermore, many OAR teams and individuals found great success at the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Games.

They may not have had a Russian flag to call their own, but even without it, teams like the OAR men's hockey team nabbed a gold medal on Sunday in PyeongChang (Saturday night in the United States).

So, even though most of the Olympic Athletes from Russia competed clean throughout the 2018 Winter Olympics, a couple of hiccups prevented the IOC from lifting the ban on Russia's Olympic team. As long as the ban is in place, athletes from Russia cannot represent the Russian flag.